


A Reason to Fight

by Orison



Series: Rescue Me [9]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 17:51:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20440064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orison/pseuds/Orison
Summary: Part nine of the "Rescue Me" series. Steve's morning with Danny's kids doesn't go as planned...





	A Reason to Fight

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is a story I was asked to write, and that I’m posting as a gift to the person who reached out to me with the idea hoping that she likes it. I have to admit it wasn’t easy to write, but I’ve been encouraged by my wonderful beta and a few other good friends to keep going. It took longer than I expected, but I managed to finish it. 
> 
> FYI— I do have a tendency to hurt my characters but if there was something really, really bad happening in the story (e.g. death) I would totally warn you about it. If you don’t see a warning, no one’s dying. 
> 
> Please allow some poetic license. This is a work of fiction, after all. And let me know what you think. I enjoy reading comments very, very much.
> 
> Prompt is at the end so it won’t spoil the story.

***

_Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, _  
_while loving someone deeply gives you courage._  
— Lao Tzu

***

“Uncle Steve?”

The young, familiar voice filtered through the haze of Steve’s consciousness. 

_Charlie._

He stirred, instinctively trying to turn his head towards the sound. Blood was roaring in his ears, muffling every other noise around him as if he was listening to them from under water, and a numbing cold had enveloped his limbs. 

“Uncle Steve?”

There it was again. This time, he heard the fear in the kid’s tone. A raw, unmistakable fear that sent a shiver down his spine.

His eyelids fluttered as he willed himself to full consciousness and felt a small hand on his shoulder. 

“Please...” Charlie shook him. “I can’t wake Grace up!”

_Grace? _

His body jerked, becoming aware all of a sudden, and his world exploded with pain. For several moments, he had no idea what had happened or where he was. No idea of anything except the breath-stealing agony enveloping his being.

Clenching his teeth to keep from crying out, he pushed everything that wasn’t Danny’s kids to the back of his mind and opened his eyes.

Blurry shapes danced around his vision as his mind tried to grab onto a thought, any thought, while they kept floating out of reach.

With great effort, he turned his head slightly to the right and managed to focus on the kid’s face. 

“Ch-Charlie?”

The boy had a death grip on his shirt sleeve and was tugging at it with all his might. “Uncle Steve, something’s wrong with Grace!”

Steve’s heart seized. 

Something was very wrong indeed.

It took him a few more heartbeats to figure out where they were and why he was hurting all over. When he did, he almost wished he hadn’t remembered.

***

_They were late. _

_His partner was going to kill him. _

_It was Danny’s Saturday with the kids, but he’d woken up to a broken fridge and three days’ worth of food gone bad so Steve had offered to take Grace and Charlie to breakfast while he either tried to fix that or went to buy a new one. _

_Knowing how much he enjoyed their company and the fact that it was probably the last opportunity for the three of them to spend time together before Grace started college, Danny had immediately agreed. _

_ “Couple of hours should be enough. Thanks, man.” _

_ “Don’t mention it,” Steve had replied casually as if he wasn’t beaming at the thought of hanging out with them. “I was in the mood for pancakes anyway. I’ll bring them back in time for the beach.” _

_That was the plan for the day: sun, surf, and quality time with his family. _

_They should have known it was too perfect to become true. _

_Breakfast had turned into one of the best hour of Steve’s life. They’d eaten chocolate chips and blueberry pancakes, laughed about everything and nothing, and then moved to a nearby playground to kill some more time. While Charlie burned off some energy, he and Grace had talked, a heart-to-heart conversation about college and fears and growing up in a loving family versus being neglected by workaholic, emotionally stunted parents. _

_It had always surprised him how easy it was to speak to her, how natural it felt even for someone like him who didn’t like to express his feelings. Danny’s son was a special little boy, but he’d known Grace since she was six. The bond he shared with her was deep and had remained strong even through her moody, teenage years. _

_Her going away to college in a few weeks was something he dreaded and looked forward to at the same time. _

_Before he knew it, it was time to head back. He texted Danny to let him know they were on their way and they all climbed into the Silverado. Grace was in charge of the music, and immediately hooked her phone to the truck’s USB plug to play her favorite songs. Steve and Charlie just pretended to know the words and sang along, much to the young girl’s playful dismay. _

_They were fake-rapping to a hip hop tune and about to cross an intersection when he saw it. _

_A semi-truck, barreling towards them at high speed. _

_From the way it was swerving, Steve could tell the driver had lost control of it. Startled, he realized in horror that there wasn’t anything he could do to avoid it. Braking, accelerating… nothing would help. It was going to strike them. In a last effort to avoid the collision or at least take the brunt of it so that the kids wouldn’t be harmed he steered to the right, shouting out a warning to them to cover their heads and hold on tight. _

_As the semi slammed into the side of Steve’s truck his body was flung forward, then back and sideways as the airbags exploded. He heard the violent, deafening bang of metal, the crush of glass as the windows shattered and the crackle of his own bones. _

_But the sound he would never forget for as long as he lived was Grace’s terrified scream when the Silverado’s wheels rose up. The seatbelt tugged on his skin while the vehicle bounced, then rolled, flipping once before coming to a stop on the side of the road, leaving a trail of metal and glass. _

_Steve blinked through glazed, pain-filled eyes. The cacophony of noises from a few moments before had been replaced by silence. Through his blurred vision, he saw steam rise from the front of the truck, and an acrid smell invaded his nostrils. _

_Then everything faded to black. _

***

“Gracie?”

Instantly alert though far from being lucid Steve tried to move, only to realize he was pinned by the crushed metal that had once been the door and the front of his vehicle. 

A strong, pulsating pain originating from his abdomen seemed to control his every action and thoughts, and yet he tried to free himself anyway, struggling to take his seatbelt off to help Grace. The futility of it immediately slapped him in the face, leaving him weak and gasping for breath.

How long had he sat there, drifting in and out of consciousness, wasting precious time he could’ve used to get them out?

Ignoring the voice in his head calling him a failure and the taste of blood in his mouth, he took a measured breath and reached out one hand to check her pulse. 

He was _not_ going to fail Danny’s kids. 

He was _not_ going to fail his partner and best friend, who had trusted him with the most precious things in his life. 

The strong beat under his fingertips was the best sound he had ever heard and he exhaled slowly through his nose, wincing at the sharp, knife-like ache spreading through his body.

“Grace, can you hear me?”

The position he was trapped in didn’t allow him to properly assess her condition, but the girl didn’t seem to be hurt badly. With some luck, she had just passed out from the shock of the collision.

Keeping his hand on Grace’s shoulder as reassurance to both, he glanced in the rearview mirror. Despite being crooked, it allowed him to get a glimpse of Charlie in the backseat.

“Hey, Charlie…”, he said, trying to keep his tone light and his expression calm. “You alright, buddy?”

There were tear tracks down his cheeks, and the tightness in Steve’s chest increased tenfold.

The boy gave him a solemn look, as if studying him to make sure he was okay and listening. 

“What’s wrong with Grace?” he asked, glancing at his unconscious sister.

Steve swallowed hard. “Gracie’s asleep, but she’s gonna be fine.” His hand slid down the girl’s arm to her wrist and he felt for a pulse again. It was still strong. Closing his eyes, he said a silent thank you to whoever had spared them from harm.

“You were both asleep after the truck hit us. I… I got scared…” Charlie admitted in a low voice.

The words tore at Steve’s heart and for a moment, breathing became even harder than it already was. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you but you woke me up, right? You did good.”

The boy nodded and leaned forward, his face mere inches from his uncle’s. “You’re bleeding.”

Steve instinctively moved to try and stop him. The pain in his abdomen flared, and he barely suppressed a groan. “S-stay... still, Charlie, you gotta stay still...” Although the kid seemed alert and unharmed, he knew there was always the possibility of an internal injury and didn’t want to risk worsening it. He would never forgive himself if that happened. “I’m fine, little man, don’t worry about me,” he lied as he watched him sit back in his booster seat, hands in his lap. “How about you, you hurt?”

“I scraped my arm and knees.”

“I’m sorry about that,” he said, unable to hide the relief at the boy’s words. “As soon as we get out of here we’re gonna have somebody take a look at it, alright?”

Charlie nodded, looking at him with Danny’s wide, inquisitive eyes and making Steve feel helpless and vulnerable like never before. He tried to estimate how much time had passed, wondering how long it would take for help to get there. The semi was sitting on his left, its big frame shadowing the Silverado and blocking Steve’s view of the road. He wondered what had happened to the driver, if he was hurt or unable to call for help just like he was. The fact that no one had come to check on them strongly suggested that.

He sighed, leaning his head back against the headrest.

The back road off Kalaniana’ole he had chosen to save some time was a route he’d taken a hundred times before. On weekends, it allowed locals to bypass the ever-trafficked highway and the herd of tourists headed to the beach. Today, as he sat pinned to his seat trying to take stock of injuries he already knew would barely give him a fighting chance, being slowed down to a crawl and singing along to Grace’s favorite songs sounded instead like a missed opportunity.

***

“Uncle Steve?”

“Yeah...”

“I’m cold.”

This time, it was Grace’s voice that drew him out of his dark thoughts. She had woken up with a start, disoriented and moaning about a throbbing pain in her leg, and the feeling of helplessness Steve had experienced earlier had come back with a vengeance. 

He had never felt like that in his whole life, not even when he’d had to listen to his father being murdered over the phone. These were kids – _Danny’s kids_, trapped in a steel prison. 

“I know, Gracie. Just hold on, okay? They’re gonna be here soon.”

He turned his head, facing away from her. A lonely tear trickled down his cheek, and he angrily wiped it away.

Grace never complained. She was strong and brave like her father. Witnessing her pain was breaking Steve’s heart. He remembered those long hours at the hospital, waiting for news after the car accident she’d been involved in months before, Danny’s face crumpling in grief at the thought that his precious girl could be brain damaged or worse, dead. 

And now, thanks to his negligence, it was happening all over again.

Pain rippled through his bruised ribs as he coughed and he fought to catch his breath, unconsciously rubbing the spot where the steering wheel had impacted with his chest. He wished for the umpteenth time that he could move, get them out of the tangled mess that had once been his vehicle, whose front and left side was mangled so badly he couldn’t tell where the metal ended and his body began. 

If he was going to die in here, he wished he could at least know the kids were safe before it happened.

***

Steve didn’t know it, but the reason it was taking so long for help to get there was that, to normal passerby’s, the scene of the accident barely looked like one.

The semi had stopped on the side of the road, perfectly aligned as if the driver had parked it to go for breakfast or take a leak, completely hiding the Silverado from view. The brake marks and the glass littering the asphalt, along with the damage visible to the truck’s front were the only telltale signs of a collision and still, one could barely tell there was another vehicle involved.

Cars passed them by, oblivious to the drama unfolding just out of their reach and sight, speeding along a route that had seen all sorts of crashes and hit-and-runs over the years.

It would take a little more time and a desperate father to finally realized where they were.

***

The sound of his cell phone ringing broke the silence that had fallen inside the wrecked Silverado.

Steve looked around, trying to locate the device, almost positive it was Danny calling to see where they were.

What was he going to say to him?

When the first recon of his surroundings proved to be fruitless, he used his hand to feel the area around his lap, hissing in pain as it connected with his tender abdomen by mistake. Whatever was going on down there, whatever trauma he had suffered from the impact, it wasn’t anything good.

Choosing not to dwell on it because his priority was getting Danny’s kids to safety, he focused on finding his phone again. The damn thing must’ve been flung off the dashboard during the impact and was probably somewhere at the bottom of the truck, completely out of reach. 

To his dismay, the ringing stopped a few moments later and he sighed in frustration at his inability to answer the call that could’ve gotten them help.

Stealing a sideway glance at Grace, he saw that she was conscious but silent. Even Charlie, as if sensing the gravity of the situation, was staring out the damaged window, lost in thought. 

He needed to do something, engage them somehow so they would forget about their current situation, even for a little while. 

The coppery taste in his mouth and the worsening feeling of knives plunging into his chest every time he breathed made speaking more and more difficult, but Steve swallowed the blood down and did it anyway. He even managed to make Charlie smile, which in his book counted as a pretty good win.

Trying to take their minds off the accident, he talked to them about snorkeling in Sharks’ Cove, about plans of picnics and hikes to his favorite places on the island, and all the things he wanted to do with them when Grace came back from college for the holidays. 

If he lived long enough to do that anyway.

They were planning the next breakfast outing when they heard the sound of another cell phone ringing.

“That’s Danno’s ringtone!” Charlie exclaimed in excitement.

Steve’s hopes soared up. 

“Gracie, where’s your phone?” he asked, hoping that her teenage habit of always keeping it handy would work in their favor.

She looked lost for a second, then lowered her gaze to her lap. “I don’t… it’s here,” she said, raising her arm and showing the phone safely clutched in her hand. Reinvigorated by the thought of her father calling, she straightened in her seat and put the device to her ear.

“Danno…”

Steve could only hear one side of the conversation, but it was clear from Grace’s words and reactions that the news had shocked him.

Then Danny asked her to put him on speaker.

He stayed on the phone with them as he rushed to the accident site, speaking words of encouragement and reassurance and urging them to hold on until help arrived.

Partially relieved that they were finally going to get rescued, Steve leaned his head back and closed his eyes against the onslaught of emotions that the phone conversation with his partner had stirred.

Just one minute, he promised, to get himself together.

***

The next time he opened them, there was a blurry figure looming over him.

Dark clothes, large hat, the man was standing by the broken window and trying to get his attention. 

“Commander McGarrett, can you hear me?”

Steve blinked, and a strangled “yeah” escaped his parched, blood-smeared lips. As his focus sharpened, he realized it was a firefighter. The face was familiar, though he couldn’t recall his name.

Captain. Was he a Captain? 

“The kids… get the kids…” he croaked.

The Captain nodded. “We’re working on that.” A veteran to the corps, he took one look at the wreckage and immediately signaled his men to approach so they could secure the scene and figure out a way to pull everybody out. 

There was no time to waste.

Through glazed eyes, Steve looked at Charlie in the rearview mirror. “Help’s here, buddy. Remember what we talked about? Just do what the firefighters say and you’ll be out of here in no time.”

“Are you coming with us?” the boy asked as he watched the truck being surrounded by emergency workers.

“Uhm… not yet. They need to get you guys out first and then they’ll come for me.”

“Then I’ll wait,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Charlie, no…”

“I don’t want to leave you alone, Uncle Steve!”

Tears filled Steve’s eyes at the kid’s words. He had never taken their love for granted, so every time they showed him that they cared it awed and surprised him as if he wasn’t worth it. “It’s alright, Charlie-boy. I’ll let you in on a little secret, alright? Knowing that you’re safe is going to make me feel much, much better, so let them help you and I’ll be with you guys soon.”

“Charlie, we can’t stay in here. Uncle Steve is right,” Grace chimed in, sounding more alert than she had been since she’d woken up. As much as it pained her to leave him behind, she knew it had to be done. “They can’t help him if they don’t get us out.”

That seemed to get through to the boy and he finally nodded in acceptance. 

Steve gave her a grateful look, then nodded at the Captain who immediately started to relay orders to his team.

“Alright, we’ll get the boy first and then cut the passenger door to reach the girl. Come on, people, let’s go!” 

“Charlie!”

Danny’s voice suddenly cut through the noise surrounding the scene.

A heartbeat later he was there, standing outside the mangled vehicle, his gaze dashing frantically between the three most important people in his life.

“He alright?” he asked the firefighter that had just gotten him out. “Huh? He alright?”

“Yes,” the man nodded. “A few scrapes and bruises but he’s fine.”

“Thank God,” Danny muttered, immediately taking the boy into his arms. “What about my daughter? Grace, you alright?”

When she didn’t respond, he forced his way through the emergency workers, desperate to reach her. “Grace!”

His heart was hammering into his chest, the flashbacks of her previous accident hindering his ability to focus.

Not again.

_Please not again. _

“I’m okay, Danno,” she said in a soft voice. 

Tightening his grip on Charlie, he jerked out of the arms that tried to hold him back and leaned in through the window. “I’m here, Monkey. It’s gonna be alright,” he promised, brushing the back of his fingers down the girl’s cheek.

“Detective Williams, you need to step back,” the Captain ordered. 

“I’m not leaving my daughter.”

The older man pointed to the crushed Silverado and the two people still inside of it. “We need to get them out. Right now.” His tone was urgent, his face serious.

Reigning in his emotions Danny moved aside, unconsciously starting to rub his son’s back as he watched the firefighters work to cut Grace out.

“Is Grace gonna be okay?” Charlie asked, burrowing his face into his father’s neck.

“Is she gonna be okay? Of course she is. You’re all gonna be okay...”

He glanced at Steve as he spoke. His partner’s gaze was focused on the rescue, watching every move with his patented thousand-yard stare while holding Grace’s hand in a reassuring gesture. 

Danny’s heart swelled with love.

From where he was standing he couldn’t get a good view of him, but there was no mistaking the pain lining Steve’s face. The truck was badly damaged, its front barely recognizable. It could’ve ended much, much worse than it had.

Running a hand over his face, he reluctantly took another step backwards.

As much as he wanted to help, all he could do was wait.

***

It took over ten minutes to carefully cut Grace out of the wreckage.

Ten excruciatingly long minutes that felt like an eternity to both men. 

When they finally extracted her from the vehicle and loaded her onto a stretcher, Danny reached for the same hand Steve had held the whole time, whispering a litany of reassurances that he hoped didn’t sound as hollow as they felt.

Grace’s left leg was broken, that much he could tell even if he wasn’t a medic. Other than that, she was sporting a few bruises from where the airbag and seatbelt had impacted with her skin but thankfully, nothing life threatening. 

He glanced at Steve, noticing the way he seemed to struggle to draw air into his lungs, and they shared a long look. 

Danny apologized for having to leave him to go after his daughter. 

Steve nodded to tell him that it was alright, and that he knew his kids came first. “I love you, guys,” he breathed out as he watched them being escorted away from the truck, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time he saw them. 

The paramedics started an IV and loaded Grace into the ambulance, their moves quick and efficient. Danny sat Charlie down in the bench across from his sister’s gurney to call Rachel, his free hand curling around the girl’s uninjured foot, the only part he could touch from where he was standing. 

He saw the Captain walk past them as he scrolled down the ‘recent calls’ list and nodded at him. “Thank you,” he said, his voice full of gratitude. 

“Thank your partner,” the other man replied. “Judging from the tire marks, the semi was gonna hit them head-on. If he hadn’t steered to the side, we would’ve pulled out three bodies today.”

Danny’s eyes widened at the revelation. Not because it surprised him that Steve had put the safety of his children before his own, but because the impact of what he had done and the realization of how things could have ended hit him like a ton of bricks. 

He could’ve lost them all today. 

For a moment, he forgot how to breathe. 

Then his shaky hand rose and he put the device to his ear, dreading the phone call he was about to make. 

A few feet away, inside the Silverado, Steve’s awareness flickered.

Finally alone, and satisfied that the kids were safe, he slumped in his seat with a moan of distress, screwing his face up into a pasty-white mask of agony as he finally acknowledged the pain he’d been ignoring the whole time. 

The mission was over. 

He had done what was needed.

There was a wheezing sound coming from his lungs every time he breathed, and he felt like the whole truck was sitting on his chest. His neck hurt, as did his back, and when he ran his hand over the area around his abdomen where the pain was worse it came away red and sticky with blood.

A paramedic materialized to his left just as he was adding broken bones and a concussion to the list of injuries, urging him to open his eyes while he put a c-collar on him and placed an oxygen mask over his face.

Steve wanted to. 

He really did. 

Then the EMT moved him slightly forward to strap the neck brace on. 

And consciousness slipped away.

***

“Hey! I need some help over here, he’s crashing!”

The frantic call coming from the scene he had just left made Danny’s blood run cold. 

He turned around, staring with increasing panic as two more rescuers came to assist the paramedic that was working on Steve.

_No. No no no. _

Dropping the phone back into his pocket, he took a tentative step towards the Silverado and then stopped to glance at his kids in the back of the ambulance. Torn between the desire to ride with them to the hospital and the urge to make sure his partner was okay he stood there, rooted to the spot and unable to choose. 

Fate spared him the decision when the same voice spoke again a few moments later.

“Captain, we need to get him out of there or he’s not gonna make it!” 

He couldn’t go.

He couldn’t leave Steve.

As he ran a hand over his face, trying to find the right words to explain to Grace and Charlie why he was staying behind, he spotted Tani and Junior running towards him. “Thank god,” he murmured again, breathing in relief at the sight of his coworkers.

“Sir, I heard it on the scanner. How bad is it?” Junior asked, already examining the scene to figure out how he could help.

Tani curled her hand around Danny’s bicep, face drawn tight with worry. “What can we do?” 

“Steve... I gotta check on Steve...” he replied, staring at the wreckage. “I need you to go to the hospital, make sure my kids are okay.”

“Of course, whatever you need.”

Sliding one arm around her back in an attempt to draw strength from the physical contact, he guided them both to the ambulance to inform the paramedics tending to his daughter that Tani was going to ride with them in his place. 

He kissed the top of Charlie’s head, grateful beyond words that the boy was sitting there in front of him with an innocent, oblivious smile on his face. “Mom will meet you at the hospital, alright? I, uh... I gotta go.”

There was regret in his voice, and as he turned to check on Grace he hoped she’d understand it was the right thing to do.

Ever the perceptive one, the girl levered herself on one elbow despite her discomfort and sat up, sharing the same worry that was constricting her father’s lungs. Their eyes met, and she nodded in understanding. “Go... make sure uncle Steve’s alright.”

Danny swallowed hard, feeling tears prickle at his eyes. “I love you, Monkey. Everything’s gonna be alright,” he promised before mouthing a ‘thank you’ to his younger teammate and rushing to Steve’s side.

The first thing he became aware of, the one thing his brain had chosen to ignore to focus on his children, was how badly damaged the truck really was. And right after that, when his eyes landed on Steve, how serious his condition looked. 

“Steve? Hey, let me through! Steve!”

Strong-arming the firefighters who attempted to stop him, Danny made his way to the driver’s side of the Silverado just as his partner’s glazed-over eyes blinked open. The paramedic that had made the frantic call was busy putting the drum of his stethoscope to Steve’s chest and barely paid him any attention. 

Danny watched him listen for a few moments and then shake his head as he slung the stethoscope back around his neck. “Steve?” he called in a hesitant voice, breath catching at the sight of his battered form. “We’re gonna get you out, buddy, you hear me? We're gonna get you out of there.”

Steve was blinking, his unfocused eyes staring straight ahead. He didn’t give any sign that he’d seen or even heard him.

The paramedic frowned and took out his penlight from one of his pockets. “Commander, can you hear me? Can you follow the light with your eyes?”

Slowly, and with extreme care as not to jostle the fire poker searing his abdomen, Steve turned his head as much as the c-collar allowed him and complied with the EMT’s request.

“The kids... are the kids alright?” 

The return to consciousness meant the return to awareness of his predicament but there was only one thing that mattered, one answer he was hoping to hear to make the pain ravaging his body worth it. 

Danny leaned closer and ran his knuckles down Steve’s cheek, watching the mask over his face cloud up as he breathed.

“They’re okay, they’re gonna be fine.”

“…Danny?”

“I’m right here, Steve,” he assured him, lowering his head to catch his eyes. “I’m right here.”

What looked like the ghost of a smile appeared on Steve’s lips as his best friend’s face swam in and out of his vision. “N-not my fault...”

Danny nodded, his heart breaking at the thought that he would feel the need to point that out. “I know. I know, babe. You did nothing wrong.”

Around them, the firefighters were getting ready to fold back the truck’s roof in order to gain better access into the vehicle. One of them came over, said something to the paramedic that Danny couldn’t hear and then approached him. 

“Forget it,” the Jersey native said, holding out one hand to stop him before he even spoke. “I’m not leaving him.” 

The firefighter handed him a black nylon tarp. “I figured as much. I wouldn’t leave my partner either. Use this. Make sure you’re both covered. It’s only gonna take us a couple of minutes.”

Danny accepted it, grateful for the understanding. He had learned from his father that the brotherhood firefighters shared was just as tight as the one he’d experienced in the police force. He didn’t need to explain to these men how he felt because they already knew. 

Something about their plan was bothering him though, something he couldn’t quite grasp but didn’t feel right. “Hey, hey!” He called when it finally clicked, gut clenching. “What’s going on? Why the roof? Why don’t you cut the door to get him out?”

The man gave him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I thought you knew. A piece of metal from the door is lodged inside his abdomen. We can’t cut it out. Not until we find a way to do it without killing him.”

If words could actually kill, Danny would’ve dropped dead right there in the middle of the accident scene. Reeling from the shock at the news of Steve’s conditions, he raised a shaky hand to his mouth and stifled a cry as his eyes filled with tears.

_Impaled. _

That sounded so much worse than Danny’s list of worst-case scenarios.

And yet he couldn’t —wouldn’t— dwell on it, or fall apart like his overwhelmed brain was threatening to. 

They had a job to do. 

_He had a job to do. _

Scrubbing at his face he took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the tarp and resumed his position at his friend’s side. 

“Hey, buddy. The roof is gonna come out, alright? So I’m gonna put this over us for protection.” 

Unable to nod because of the collar and not really trusting his voice wouldn’t give away the pain he was feeling, Steve blinked once to let him know he understood. A moment later, he felt a pricking sensation in his arm and recognized the soothing effect of morphine. 

The paramedic gave his colleagues a thumbs up to let them know they were ready. Then he covered both partners with the tarp and reassured Danny he would be back as soon as they finished. 

As the jaws of life started to cut through metal and the agony slowly began to ease, Steve met his best friend’s concerned eyes under the nylon cover, twitching his lips briefly into another smile.

_It’s okay_, he wanted to tell him. 

_I saved them. _

***

“This should have stitches,” Danny said softly, pointing to the cut that had sliced Steve’s right eyebrow.

His legs were cramping from standing in the same position too long, but he stubbornly stayed where he was, occasionally glancing around at the rescuers to keep track of their progress. 

Still pinned to his seat, Steve had been drifting in and out of consciousness, no doubt courtesy of the medications running through his system. At first, Danny didn’t even know where to touch him, afraid he would cause him more pain. Driven by the need to reassure and be reassured, he’d eventually placed one hand on his shoulder and, careful not to touch the mangled door, had reached the other inside the vehicle to grasp Steve’s.

“It’s nothing,” the former SEAL muttered, closing his eyes to ride out another wave of discomfort. The morphine had helped, and he no longer felt like being stabbed every time he breathed. It came with a mind-fuzzing effect, giving him a hard time remembering details and following what was going on around him. “How are the kids?”

Danny tried not to frown at the question Steve had already asked three times. 

“They’re safe,” he smiled. “How about you, huh? How are you doing?”

“Me? I... I’m not even sure anymore. H-hurting all over.”

The admission, painful as much as it was unexpected, made a chill run down Danny’s spine. He looked at the paramedic, silently urging him to do something about it. 

The EMT nodded and slid inside the vehicle through the passenger side to take another round of vitals.

“Commander, I’m gonna check your abdomen, okay?”

Steve blinked yes, inhaling sharply through tightly pressed lips as soon as the man touched it.

Danny immediately squeezed his hand. “You’re alright... you’re alright...” Always observant, he didn’t miss the head shake and the barely audible ‘damn’ that followed the check-up. “What’s wrong?” He asked the paramedic, feeling dread already twisting his stomach. 

“Blood keeps flowing out whenever I press on the wound. The metal is stopping most of it right now, but it's not gonna last long.”

“Airways?” Another EMT asked, handing him a second IV bag. 

“Sats are okay for now, but there's definitely blood in his chest.”

“He could have a collapsed lung. Look at those bruises, must be where the steering wheel hit.”

“We can’t be sure until we get him out.”

“When?” Danny exploded, unable to control himself any longer. “When is that going to happen? Because I’ve been standing here for almost an hour and nothing’s happened!”

“Danny...” Steve’s voice was strong despite the oxygen mask covering his face.

“No!” He held up a hand to silence him. “I need to know what their plan is, alright? I need... I need to know why we’re still here, listening to you guys betting on his injuries. He took a step back, away from the truck, and stared at the emergency workers gathered around them. “How much longer is it gonna take? Captain? Because he, uh... he’s still trapped in here with a piece of metal in his chest and... and it sounds like he doesn’t have time for you to—” 

“Sir?” 

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Junior looking at him with sad, compassionate eyes. 

Breathing hard like he’d run a mile, fists curled, Danny hung his head, allowing a few tears to fall. “He’s... he saved my kids. Please don’t let him die...”

He nodded to Junior, letting him know he was alright, turned away from the truck so Steve couldn’t see him, and took a moment to collect himself while the firefighters resumed their work.

“Thanks,” Steve said when he finally got back by his side, reaching out a trembling hand and curling it around Danny’s wrist.

“For what?”

“Pleading my case. And... being there all these years...”

He said a lot more with his eyes after that, trusting his partner to get the message like he had done countless times in the past. 

Danny got it loud and clear, so much so that his heart seized in his throat and what little composure he had regained threatened to slip away. “Don’t,” he shook his head. “Do _not_ do this, alright? You’re gonna be fine. You— we’re gonna be fine.”

Grasping the oxygen mask, Steve lowered it back down to his side. “Stop lying to me for my own good, Danno...” he whispered, triggering a bout of coughing that sprayed a fine mist of blood all over his lips and Danny’s white shirt. “I love you,” he added a second later, just like he had told the kids before they took them away. He was comfortable saying it now, having learned how important it was to express his feelings to the people he cared about, and he was damned if he wasn’t going to say it for as long as he could. 

Danny nearly broke down at those three words, doubling over as if in physical pain.

He knew what they meant. 

Steve was saying goodbye.

He had closed his eyes and...

_No_. 

Anger suddenly boiled inside his chest.

Steve was _not_ going to die like this. On the side of a back road, concealed from sight.

He was _not_ going to die in front of him after all they’d been through. 

The son of a bitch had steered the truck and let the semi hit his side so that his kids could have a chance. 

He was _not_ going to give up. 

Danny wasn’t going to let him. 

He gripped his shoulder, ignoring the fact that he was probably hurting him, and started to shake him. “Look at me! Hey, Steve, look at me!”

When Steve didn’t respond, Danny framed both hands on the sides of his face.

“McGarrett!” 

There were tears running down his cheeks but he didn’t care, busy as he was making sure his best friend didn’t let go. “You don’t get to do that, you hear me? You fight, Steven! You’re not a quitter. You fight!”

“Let me check on him, Detective,” the paramedic urged. “Let me do my job.”

Danny reluctantly complied, stepping away from the vehicle but staying close enough to watch the man’s movements like a hawk. He felt like all the air had been punched out of him, like he was stuck in a horror movie watching everyone he loved suffer and not being able to do a thing about it. 

The broken fridge he had woken to that morning seemed like a distant memory, a trivial incident he’d overreacted to, and for a moment he wished he was home so he could bust the machine with his own hands. If the damn thing hadn’t stopped working, Steve wouldn’t have taken the kids out as a favor to him and they’d be still enjoying their Saturday together.

His dark, murderous thoughts were interrupted by Junior who approached him at a quick pace, holding his cellphone in his outstretched hand. 

“They’re okay,” he said with a smile, slightly out of breath as if he’d been running. 

Danny blinked in confusion. “What?”

“The kids. Tani texted me from the hospital. They’re gonna put Grace’s leg in a cast for four to six weeks but they’re fine, Sir. Your ex-wife is with them.”

Danny breathed in relief. 

_His kids were okay. _

He immediately went over to Steve, who was still unconscious despite the paramedics’ efforts. “They’re alright. See? They’re okay,” he blurted, hoping his friend would react to the news. “Grace and Charlie... they’re okay, buddy. You saved them.”

His face fell when Steve remained stubbornly still. 

“How is he?” he asked the EMT. 

“He’s hanging on, barely. He needs a hospital and surgery right now or we’re gonna lose him.”

Hopelessness started to sneak into Danny’s heart.

The odds were stacked too high. Even the rescue workers weren’t giving him much chance.

He fought it, with everything he had. 

This couldn’t be the end.

“How can I help?” Junior cut in, addressing the firefighters that had almost freed Steve completely.  
The sight of his mentor’s battered body gave him flashbacks from his combat days, bringing back memories of missions gone wrong and fellow soldiers laying in the dirt, their vacant eyes staring accusingly at him. The young SEAL swallowed, pushing them away and focusing on the rescuers’ voices. 

“We need to get him out of there.”

“I can’t reach him from this angle.”

“I’ll get in through the other side, help you from there.” 

“Might work. Let’s get in position.”

According to his watch, McGarrett had been trapped for 47 minutes. He might have a shot if they managed to cut him out and bring him to the hospital in under an hour.

“What’s the ETA on the Medevac?” he inquired.

The question earned him a few puzzled looks. 

“We’re eight minutes away from King’s,” one of the paramedics replied.

Junior resisted the urge to smack some sense into them. “He needs to go to Tripler. And with his injuries, Medevac is the best solution.”

The EMTs looked at each other as if thinking it over.

“I’ll take care of it,” he said without giving them time to reply.

Danny nodded gratefully at his teammate’s resourcefulness. He hadn’t even thought of that.

He reached out and grasped his partner’s hand, once again willing him to wake up, and was unexpectedly rewarded with a light squeeze.

A moment later his long, dark lashes fluttered and Steve opened his eyes.

“Hey… there you are!”

The grin that spread across Danny’s face was big enough to light the whole island on a cloudy day.

“Where… H-how did I…?” Steve stammered, eyes darting around in confusion. Then realization dawned. “Oh...” 

“How do you feel?” 

“Like I got… h-hit by a semi...”

“Funny. That’s funny. See, you making jokes? That’s a good sign. You’re gonna be alright, buddy.”

Steve was so far from being alright he was surprised he was even talking. Must’ve been the morphine, he reasoned, or maybe what they called ‘the surge’. He had heard about that over the years, of patients regaining strength and having a final surge of energy and brain activity, seemingly getting better before they got worse.

While he hoped that was not the case, he had made peace with dying a long time ago. And if death was the price to pay to ensure Grace and Charlie lived a long, happy life then he was okay with that.

He glanced around, recalling a vague memory of them being wheeled towards safety, then focused back on Danny.

“Why are you still here?” 

The Jersey native shook his head in bewilderment. “Because there’s nowhere else for me to be, you dumbass.”

“The kids...” 

“My kids are fine. Rachel’s with them. It’s you I’m worried about right now.”

“Don’t. Go be with your kids, Danny... You’re the best father I know and they need you...”

“Detective Williams, I need you to move. We’re gonna cut out the piece of metal that's impaling him.”

Danny froze, his body as still as a statue. 

This was it. 

One way or the other, his nightmare was about to end.

Steve grasped his partner’s hand, bringing him closer. “Do me a favor… Tell them I love them and that I—” 

“Hey, we’ve been through this already, we’re not doing it again!” Danny cut him off. “I’m not gonna tell my kids that their uncle saved their lives and then decided to quit. It’s almost over. Just hold on a little longer, alright? Don’t wanna do it for yourself, do it for them!” 

_I am_. 

_I am fighting_.

_It’s just too damn much_…

“It’s going to be okay, Danno. I’m just so tired…” he admitted, voice strained from exhaustion and pain. 

“I know, babe. I know.”

His vision tunneled dangerously, and he knew he didn’t have much time. “Whatever happens… you guys will always have each other...” 

With that knowledge came acceptance. 

Even if he died, Danny would still have a family. 

They were going to be okay.

He tensed up in preparation and gave a slight nod to the paramedics, signaling he was ready. 

A cacophony of voices instantly surrounded him. 

“Cut the seatbelt loose!” 

“On it!” 

“We’re pulling him out now.”

He felt hands grabbing him, then a sharp tug and the sound of an engine as the cutters roared to life and started to bite through metal. 

Pain searing through his abdomen, and the sweet oblivion of unconsciousness.

“Get the backboard!”

“Take his legs, I got his back.”

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

Danny’s throat was tight as he watched the fire crew work in sync to get his friend out of the wreck, his cheeks wet. “Stay with me, Steve... stay with me,” he whispered over and over, arms folded protectively around his chest to hide the tremors coursing through them. 

“All right, we’re clear!” 

“We got him!”

“Let’s go, people, he’s still alive!” 

The blades of the Medevac started to whir, their rhythmic sound reverberating all around. Danny covered his ears and held his breath until they loaded Steve into the helicopter. 

The rest became a blur.

***

The tears came hard and fast, bursting forth like water from a dam.

Hiding inside a bathroom stall, sheltered from the prying eyes of people he didn’t feel like being around, Danny covered his face with his hands let them fall.

When his knees gradually grew weak, he leaned against the wall and slowly sank down onto the floor, body virtually folding into itself as a steady stream began to flow its way down his cheeks, releasing the emotions he had managed to keep buried inside all day.

The salty drops made wet tracks down his face, dripping from his stubbled chin and drenching his shirt. 

He just sat there, powerless to stop them. 

A pathetic attempt to stifle the sobs that came along with those tears failed almost immediately. They punched through, loud and heavy, tearing from his throat and unwilling to back down. 

The grief came in waves, only broken apart by his desperate gasps for breath, making his lips tremble and his shoulders heave until there was no more energy left. 

Completely exhausted and drained to the core, Danny wearily wiped at his eyes and rose to his feet, shaky fingers reaching for the lock to open the stall’s door. 

Lou Grover was leaning against the wall near the entrance door as if standing guard, hands in his pockets. He gave him a knowing look born out of shared experiences, a look that held no judgement but only support. 

“Watch out for them nasty ants,” he said with a shrug. “They’re all over the place. Least that’s what I’ve been telling people since you got in. Figured you’d need a moment.”

Danny bowed his head, trying to force a smile that refused to come out. On a regular day he would’ve laughed at the thought of Lou faking a bug emergency to scare off patients and relatives, but there was nothing ordinary about this day, and his only wish was to erase it from memory.

“Thanks, man...” he replied, because all in all, he did appreciate Lou running interference for him.

He walked over to the sink and turned on the cold water, bending down to splash some on his face. His hands were still shaking so he curled them around the edges, bracing himself for the moment he’d have to leave his hiding spot and face reality.

He had no idea what time it was or how long it had been since he’d run into the men’s room and slammed the door behind him. All he could remember was being suddenly unable to breathe. 

“Did you tell them?” 

Lou’s voice made him jump. For a moment, in his distressed state, he had forgotten he was even there.

“Not yet.”

The thought of having to rely the news to his kids was one of the reasons he’d sought shelter inside the stall, away from everyone.

How was he supposed to tell them?

Nausea clawed at his throat, and he scooped up some water to rinse his mouth before splashing some more on his face. 

“Listen, man, I just wanted to let you know that I’m here. Whatever you guys need.”

Danny accidentally caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and immediately looked away, snatching a few paper towels out of the plastic dispenser on the wall as he nodded in acknowledgment. There was only one thing he needed, and he was positive Grover could do nothing about it.

The older man straightened up with a sigh. “You ready?”

“No. But I got no choice.”

Mustering whatever strength he had left, Danny sucked in a deep, calming breath and headed outside.

One of the nurses passing him by noticed his red eyes and defeated posture and offered him a sad smile, assuming he had lost a spouse or a family member.

He almost had.

The man lying in a bed in one of the intensive care rooms down the hall was alive only because there were machines doing for him what his body couldn’t. They had told him there was a slim chance he’d recover, that the trauma had been too extensive, which was devastating in itself even though Steve had beat odds like this more times than Danny could count. 

But that wasn’t all.

No. 

His partner, who liked to always be prepared for whatever kind of curveball life threw at him, had signed a POLST form —a new, fancy name for the ‘do not resuscitate’ order— preventing medical personnel to use CPR and other invasive procedures should he stop breathing or his heart stop beating. 

Danny knew exactly what that meant but had asked anyway, dumbfounded, unwilling to believe that it was even an option. 

The rational side of his brain, the one who knew Steve better than the Neanderthal knew himself, tried to tell him that it made perfect sense, that his friend would have hated to be confined to a bed with tubes and wires attached to his body. 

The emotional side, the one who had shared every aspect of his life with him for ten years, stubbornly refused to accept that and was already falling apart. 

In the middle of it all, two scared children who kept asking about their uncle Steve and would be just as heartbroken if he died. 

Grace was already pressing him for answers, demanding to see him and not buying the lame excuse they’d been feeding her about not being healthy enough to leave her bed. She was a smart girl, and Danny knew he wouldn’t be able to hide the truth from her much longer.

Not today though.

Today he could barely focus.

So he sat by Steve’s side, heart in his throat, staring at the red bold letters on his DNR bracelet and jumping at the slightest change on the monitors. 

Praying, hoping that his best friend held on.

***

_“You promised me, uncle Steve. You promised everything was gonna be okay. This... is is not okay... I don’t remember much about the accident but I heard Danno say you steered the truck so it wouldn’t hit us. That’s the bravest thing anyone has ever done for me... It must’ve been scary, and maybe you’re scared right now and you don’t know what to do so I’m gonna tell you what you told me when I was in the hospital after my car accident. You said that I had to live not only for myself but for the people who loved me. You— you’re like a second father to me and I love you so much and... and you promised we were gonna do all these things together so please, please don’t leave us...” _

_ “Hey, man. Feel like we’ve done this before... You know, these doctors… they don’t know what they’re talking about. They don’t know you like we do. I was telling Renee the other day about that time you dug that bullet out of your vest and went about your business as if nothing had happened. ... Now, Steve, I understand why you did it, man. I really do. But there’s a couple of things you should know before you make a decision. Your boy Danny... he’s a mess. I don’t know how he does it, really. Get up every morning and pretend to be strong for everyone. In all the years I’ve known him, I don’t think I’ve ever really seen him cry. He does that a lot now, when he thinks no one’s around. This is killing him, man. And it’s not just him. We’re all walking around like we’re missing something, so don’t do this to him. To us. It’s not your time.” _

_“I know you can hear me, Sir— ah, Steve. You told me to tone down the ‘sir’ thing, but I just can’t help it sometimes. I say it because I respect you and— and I look up to you. ... I can’t believe it’s been almost two years since I came to your door asking to work for you. The best and most incredible two years of my life. You gave me a chance. A home. Accepted me into your life when my own family didn’t. I’ll never be able to repay you for that. ... Eddie misses you, you know. I’m trying to take good care of him but it’s not the same. He sleeps outside your bedroom door every night, and growls at me whenever I tell him to move. He really needs you to get better. And... and so do I.” _

_“I spoke to Kono today. She wishes she was here, sends her love. She said you already know how much she loves you but made me promise to say it again. ... Steve, I’m not— I’m not good at this sort of thing, but... I want to say thank you. You’ve always had my back, man. Even when I didn’t deserve it. So I came to tell you that I got yours. That whatever happens, whatever you decide, I’m here for you. For you, and for the people you love. That’s what ohana is for, right?” _

_“Okay, this a bit creepy and I’m having this weird feeling of deja vu but I’ll try anyway. I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to tell you besides... thank you. Because, really, that’s the only thing that comes to mind, and I know I ramble when I’m nervous but this feels... it feels wrong with you laying there not able to talk back. ... You know what Danny told me my first day on the job? Well, my first unofficial day on the job when we almost died after that huge fire? I know it was you who sent him, by the way... anyway, he said you have this ability to show up in people’s lives right when they need you. And it didn’t make sense at first but now I understand, and it was the same for me too. I’ll be forever grateful that you chose me, and I hope I can keep working with you because... because there’s still a lot I need to learn from you so... get better. We’re all counting on you.” ___

_ __ _

_ __ _

_“Aloha, Steve. I hope that wherever you are right now, you’re at peace. My grandfather used to say that the body cannot be healed without healing the spirit, so I want you to know that you’re a good man and that I’m proud of you. The courage with which you faced the terrible decision to sacrifice yourself for Detective William’s kids is no surprise to those who have been blessed to know you all these years, and speaks of the kind of man you are. You have truly touched our hearts with your love and generosity as a friend and an officer of the law. … You know, Steve, there’s something I never told you about your father. He knew you would come back to the island eventually, and he knew you would end up being a cop after your time with the Navy, so he asked me to look out for you. It has been an honor to watch over you all this time, and I hope I can continue to do so for many, many years. Stay strong, open your heart and you will find your way back.” _

_“I think you should have your own hospital wing, you know? Considering how many times you’ve been here and the number of people visiting your room. You tired of it yet? We, uh… we got this plan to wear you down with our endless talking so that you come back just to shut us up… but it’s not working, and I don’t know what else to tell you to convince you to stay. … I can’t do this without you, Steve. I— I don’t know how. And it kills me that you’re laying there because of me, because you were trying to protect my kids. I… I can’t get past that. They’re good, by the way. They’re okay. I’m supposed to tell you that I promised to make chocolate chips pancakes for you guys every weekend. Charlie insisted that I did. And…well, you already know what’s going on with Grace since she’s here all the time. I’m telling you, man, she reminds me more and more of you every day. She hates those crutches with a passion and is determined to get back on her feet as soon as she can. I swear, between you and her these poor doctors have their hands full! … They say the longer you stay unconscious the more difficult it’s gonna be for you to come back so come on, buddy, wake up. Every day I come here and I’m afraid it’s gonna be the last... I’m mad— I’m so mad I want to rip that stupid bracelet off your wrist and punch you in the face for making such a big decision by yourself! And don’t say that we talked about it, because a half sentence while we were pumped full of meds after the transplant doesn’t count. ... I’m gonna go now, Grace’s doctor wants to talk to me. I’ll be back later, alright? I love you, man. Try not to die while I’m gone...”_

***

“What’s a putz?”

The room erupted with laughter at Charlie’s unexpected and hilariously adorable question. 

For a moment, all was forgotten: the long days spent waiting with a heavy heart for something to happen, the inevitable fallout after realizing it would take a long time for Steve to get back to normal, the involuntary outbursts prompted by sleepless nights and debilitating pain. 

“What is a putz... well, a putz is someone who’s not very smart,” Danny explained, tousling his son’s hair. “It’s a nickname I like to call uncle Steve with. Like when I call Grace a monkey.” 

“But uncle Steve is not stupid,” the boy replied, his expression serious. “He’s very brave. He saved our lives.”

Danny swallowed hard and glanced at his partner, who had ducked his head in embarrassment. “Yes. Yes, he did. And we love him very much. Now, why don’t we let him rest for a bit and go get something to eat. What do you say, buddy?”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” he repeated. “Lou, can you, uh...”

“You got it,” the older man nodded, acknowledging his friends’ need to have a moment alone. “Let’s go, guys,” he said as he grabbed the handles of Grace’s chair and started to wheel her out of the room. “We’re gonna wait outside while your dad says goodbye to uncle Steve.”

Quiet settled around them as everyone left. 

Steve let his head fall back against the pillow, suddenly wiped out, wincing as the movement pulled at his healing incisions. 

Danny moved closer, grasping his friend’s hand in his own. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” Steve shrugged. It wasn’t exactly the truth as there was a lot going through his head since he’d woken up, but he wasn’t going to add to his partner’s obvious misery. “Thanks for bringing the kids.”

“Are you kidding me? I couldn’t have kept them away even if I wanted to.”

Danny’s fingers unconsciously brushed against the DNR bracelet that was still attached to Steve’s wrist. He had tried to convince the medical staff to remove the damn thing for days with no luck. 

It physically hurt to look at it.

Steve followed his gaze. “Danny, I’m sorry...” he apologized. He knew he should’ve told him about his decision a long time ago, but how do you break a news like that to the most important person in your life? He’d kept putting it off, waiting for the right moment, and — unsurprisingly— the right moment never came. “We should talk about this...” 

“Not now,” Danny waved him off, taking his hand off Steve’s wrist and curling it around the bed rail. “I’m just glad you’re alive.”

_I’m glad your heart didn’t stop beating. _

_I’m glad your lungs didn’t stop breathing. _

_I’m glad you’re a stubborn son of a bitch who refused to give up so I didn’t have to witness my best friend dying in front of me…_

“It’s gonna be alright,” he added with a firm voice.

“I know,” Steve nodded, lips curving into a grateful smile. “How’s Wang?”

“They’re discharging him today. He said he’d stop by before he left.”

James Wang, the 55-year-old driver of the semi, had spent most of his awake time apologizing to both Steve and Danny about the accident that had almost killed two innocent kids and the Head of Five 0. Although cleared of any responsibility, he was still wrecked with guilt and willing to make up for it any way he could. 

Steve held no grudge against him. He had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Hey, I was thinking…” he said when the tension became too heavy. “What about red?”

“What about it?”

“For my next truck.”

“Absolutely not,” Danny cut him off, disapproving the mere idea of being even close to a giant red monster. “Red screams midlife crisis.”

Steve’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What? I’m not having a midlife crisis!”

“Whatever you say, babe. See you later.”

“I’m not having a midlife crisis, Danny!”

Danny walked out of the room with a grin plastered on his face.

If it meant having Steve around, he’d gladly go to work every morning in a bright pink truck.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> This was the prompt: 
> 
> _Steve is stuck somewhere with Grace and Charlie. He’s injured but has to hold on for them and do his best to protect them. Once the rescuers get the kids out he kind of gives up. He has done what was needed, and it’s too hard to hold on now that he’s saved them, so Danny has to make sure he doesn’t succumb to his injuries._
> 
> Feel free to share your thoughts about the story!


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